Port Harcourt Port collapsing, says NPA MD

Hadiza Bala Usman, NPA MD

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, has declared the Port Harcourt port is collapsing as a result of old age having approached the end of its lifespan.

Usman made this known during the stakeholders meeting Monday, saying the seaport quay walls were weak and at the point of collapse.
She said this was contained in a survey report after an inspection of the seaport by experts.
“We have noted the fact that the quay walls along the Port Harcourt Port are weak and they are at the point of collapse. We instituted a conditional survey, which report was sent to us that the Port Harcourt Port has reached the end of its lifespan,” she said.
Usman disclosed that the management will soon approach the Ministry of Transport and its board to approve “a full rehabilitation and reconstruction of the port in totality”.
Usman explained that health and security issues forced the authority to decommission terminal B in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, being operated by BUA Ports and Terminals Limited.
She disclosed that the terminal operator had even confirmed its fears about security when it sent a letter complaining that the terminal was unsafe.
The terminal operator had gone to court to protest the action of the NPA management.
Usman disclosed that the management received a contempt of court notice to the authority.
But in her defence, Usman said NPA has not violated any court order based on its action to terminate the concession agreement and subsequent decommissioning of the terminal.
She explained that the terminal failed to comply with the port development plan as stated in the agreement, adding that the attention of the terminal operator had been drawn to this but it failed to take action

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